Personality in the context of Definition

Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire lifespan. Developmental psychologists aim to explain how thinking, feeling, and behaviors change throughout life. This field examines change across three major dimensions, which are physical development, cognitive development, and social emotional development. Within these three dimensions are a broad range of topics including motor skills, executive functions, moral understanding, language acquisition, social change, personality, emotional development, self-concept, and identity formation.

Developmental psychology explores the influence of both nature and nurture on human development, as well as the processes of change that occur across different contexts over time. Many researchers are interested in the interactions among personal characteristics, the individual's behavior, and environmental factors, including the social context and the built environment. Ongoing debates in regards to developmental psychology include biological essentialism vs. neuroplasticity and stages of development vs. dynamic systems of development. While research in developmental psychology has certain limitations, ongoing studies aim to understand how life stage transitions and biological factors influence human behavior and development.

Human variability, or human variation, is the range of possible values for any characteristic, physical or mental, of human beings.

Frequently debated areas of variability include cognitive ability, personality, physical appearance (body shape, skin color, etc.) and immunology.Variability is partly heritable and partly acquired (nature vs. nurture debate).As the human species exhibits sexual dimorphism, many traits show significant variation not just between populations but also between the sexes.

Human female sexuality encompasses a broad range of behaviors and processes, including female sexual identity and sexual behavior, the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political, and spiritual or religious aspects of sexual activity. Various aspects and dimensions of female sexuality, as a part of human sexuality, have also been addressed by principles of ethics, morality, and theology. In almost any historical era and culture, the arts, including literary and visual arts, as well as popular culture, present a substantial portion of a given society's views on human sexuality, which includes both implicit (covert) and explicit (overt) aspects and manifestations of feminine sexuality and behavior.

In most societies and legal jurisdictions, there are legal bounds on what sexual behavior is permitted. Sexuality varies across the cultures and regions of the world, and has continually changed throughout history, and this also applies to female sexuality. Aspects of female sexuality include issues pertaining to body image, self-esteem, personality, sexual orientation, values and attitudes, gender roles, relationships, activity options, and communication.

In religion and philosophy, spirit is the vital principle or animating essence within humans or, in some views, all living things. Although views of spirit vary between different belief systems, when spirit is contrasted with the soul, the former is often seen as a basic natural force, principle or substance, whereas the latter is used to describe the organized structure of an individual being's consciousness, in humans to include their personality. Spirit as a substance may also be contrasted with matter, where it is usually seen as more subtle, an idea put forth for example in the Principia Mathematica.

A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. It is also considered "an intermediary between the individual and the institution."

Persona studies is an academic field developed by communication and media scholars. The related notions of "impression management" and "presentation of self" have been discussed by Erving Goffman in the 1950s.

In the philosophy of self, self-awareness is the awareness and reflection of one's own personality or individuality, including traits, feelings, and behaviors. It is not to be confused with consciousness in the sense of qualia. While consciousness is being aware of one's body and environment, self-awareness is the recognition of that consciousness. Self-awareness is how an individual experiences and understands their own character, feelings, motives, and desires. Because the term is used in both philosophical and psychological contexts, researchers distinguish between different forms of self-awareness, ranging from awareness of consciousness itself to awareness of oneself within social situations.

Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally covers specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and related activities. Psychometrics is concerned with the objective measurement of latent constructs that cannot be directly observed. Examples of latent constructs include intelligence, personality factors (e.g., introversion), mental disorders, and educational achievement. The levels of individuals on nonobservable latent variables are inferred through mathematical modeling based on what is observed from individuals' responses to items on tests and scales.

Practitioners are described as psychometricians, although not all who engage in psychometric research go by this title. Most psychometricians are psychologists with advanced graduate training in psychometrics and measurement theory. According to the Dictionary of Psychology a psychometrician "is an individual with a theoretical knowledge of measurement techniques who is qualified to develop, evaluate, and improve psychological tests." In addition to traditional academic institutions, psychometricians also work for organizations, such as Pearson and the Educational Testing Service as well as independent consultants. Some psychometric researchers focus on the construction and validation of assessment instruments, including surveys, scales, and open- or close-ended questionnaires. Others focus on research relating to measurement theory (e.g., item response theory, intraclass correlation) or specialize as learning and development professionals.

Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field of sociology, psychological social psychology places more emphasis on the individual, rather than society; the influence of social structure and culture on individual outcomes, such as personality, behavior, and one's position in social hierarchies. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the relationship between mental states and social situations, studying the social conditions under which thoughts, feelings, and behaviors occur, and how these variables influence social interactions.

A talk show or chat show is a television programming, radio programming and podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation. A talk show is distinguished from other television programs by certain common attributes; in a talk show, one person (or group of people or guests) discusses various topics put forth by a talk show host. This discussion can be in the form of an interview or a simple conversation about important social, political or religious issues and events. The personality of the host shapes the tone and style of the show. A common feature or unwritten rule of talk shows is to be based on "fresh talk", which is talk that is spontaneous or has the appearance of spontaneity.

The talk show originated in the United States in the early 1950s. Talk shows can also have several different sub-genres, which all have unique material and can air at different times of the day via different avenues.

In sociology, social psychology (also known as sociological social psychology) studies the relationship between the individual and society. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field of psychology, sociological social psychology places more emphasis on society, rather than the individual; the influence of social structure and culture on individual outcomes, such as personality, behavior, and one's position in social hierarchies. Researchers broadly focus on higher levels of analysis, directing attention mainly to groups and the arrangement of relationships among people. This subfield of sociology is broadly recognized as having three major perspectives: Symbolic interactionism, social structure and personality, and structural social psychology.

Some of the major topics in this field include social status, structural power, sociocultural change, social inequality and prejudice, leadership and intra-group behavior, social exchange, group conflict, impression formation and management, conversation structures, socialization, social constructionism, social norms and deviance, identity and roles, and emotional labor.

Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that examines personality and its variation among individuals. It aims to show how people are individually different due to psychological forces. Its areas of focus include:

• Describing what personality is
• Documenting how personalities develop
• Explaining the mental processes of personality and how they affect functioning
• Providing a framework for understanding individuals

"Personality" is a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by an individual that uniquely influences their environment, cognition, emotions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations. The word personality originates from the Latin persona, which means "mask".

Sex differences in psychology are differences in the mental functions and behaviors of the sexes and are due to a complex interplay of biological, developmental, and cultural factors. Differences have been found in a variety of fields such as mental health, cognitive abilities, personality, emotion, sexuality, friendship, and tendency towards aggression. Such variation may be innate, learned, or both. Modern research attempts to distinguish between these causes and to analyze any ethical concerns raised. Since behavior is a result of interactions between nature and nurture, researchers are interested in investigating how biology and environment interact to produce such differences, although this is often not possible.

A number of factors combine to influence the development of sex differences, including genetics and epigenetics; differences in brain structure and function; hormones, and socialization.

In analytical psychology, the shadow (also known as ego-dystonic complex, repressed id, shadow aspect, or shadow archetype) is an unconscious aspect of the personality that does not correspond with the ego ideal, leading the ego to resist and project the shadow, creating conflict with it. The shadow may be personified as archetypes which relate to the collective unconscious, such as the trickster.

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality regarding individuals' innate tendencies toward growth and innate psychological needs. It pertains to the motivation behind individuals' choices in the absence of external influences and distractions. SDT focuses on the degree to which human behavior is self-motivated and self-determined.

In the 1970s, research on SDT evolved from studies comparing intrinsic and extrinsic motives and a growing understanding of the dominant role that intrinsic motivation plays in individual behavior. It was not until the mid-1980s, when Edward L. Deci and Richard Ryan wrote a book entitled Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior, that SDT was formally introduced and accepted as having sound empirical evidence. Since the 2000s, research into practical applications of SDT has increased significantly.

Sexual objectification is the act of treating a person solely as an object of sexual desire (a sex object). Objectification more broadly means treating a person as a commodity or an object without regard to their personality or dignity. Objectification is most commonly examined at the level of a society (sociology), but can also refer to the behavior of individuals (psychology), and is a type of dehumanization.

Although both men and women can be sexually objectified, the concept is mainly associated with the objectification of women, and is an important idea in many feminist theories, and psychological theories derived from them. Many feminists argue that sexual objectification of girls and women contributes to gender inequality, and many psychologists associate objectification with a range of physical and mental health risks in women. Research suggests that the psychological effects of objectification of men are similar to those of women, leading to negative body image among men. The concept of sexual objectification is controversial, and some feminists and psychologists have argued that at least some degree of objectification is a normal part of human sexuality.

In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which one is unable to distinguish, in one's experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or incoherent thoughts or speech. Psychosis is a description of a person's state or symptoms, rather than a particular mental illness, and it is not related to psychopathy (a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits).

Common causes of chronic (i.e. ongoing or repeating) psychosis include schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and brain damage (usually as a result of alcoholism). Acute (temporary) psychosis can also be caused by severe distress, sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, some medications, and drug use (including alcohol, cannabis, hallucinogens, and stimulants). Acute psychosis is termed primary if it results from a psychiatric condition and secondary if it is caused by another medical condition or drugs. The diagnosis of a mental-health condition requires excluding other potential causes. Tests can be done to check whether psychosis is caused by central nervous system diseases, toxins, or other health problems.